AUGUSTA — After a day of mostly behind-the-scenes talks lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee inched only marginally closer to a deal that could return the entire Legislature to a special session so they can finish work on hundreds of bills, including several key funding measures, left unfinished earlier this month. […]
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Maine committee resuming work on state budget
AUGUSTA (AP) — The Maine Legislature’s Appropriations Committee is meeting to see if Democrats and Republicans are any closer to a compromise on a supplemental budget. Committee members on Wednesday will consider unfunded bills, bond proposals and other measures left on the table when lawmakers adjourned last month with unfinished business. Some of the matters […]
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State failed to follow procedures and share information in deaths of 2 girls
State child protective workers failed to follow policies and procedures in assessing the placement of a young girl who died as a result of abuse last winter, the Legislature’s watchdog agency concluded in a review released Thursday. In the case of a second girl’s death, there were widely scattered reports of potential abuse or neglect, but […]
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Legislative typo threatens to undermine Clean Elections campaigns
AUGUSTA — Candidates for Maine governor and legislative seats who are running “clean elections” campaigns could lose access to millions of dollars this summer and fall unless lawmakers come back into special session to correct a bill-drafting error. Lawmakers left dozens of measures in limbo last month when they adjourned the 2018 legislative session amid […]
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Maine lawmakers adjourn session, leaving stack of legislative work undone
AUGUSTA — The Maine Legislature adjourned Wednesday as State House leaders were unable – and in some cases unwilling – to compromise on several key issues they are now hoping will be resolved in a special lawmaking session. But it remains uncertain how lawmakers will return to work or if they will be able to […]
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Legislature overturns LePage veto on recreational marijuana bill
AUGUSTA – The Legislature on Wednesday overturned a veto by Republican Gov. Paul LePage that would have again stalled the legal sale of recreational marijuana, taking a major step toward launching a legal retail market for the drug. The votes of 109-39 in the House and 28-6 in the Senate sets Maine on a path […]
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Paul LePage vetoes recreational marijuana bill
Gov. Paul LePage on Friday vetoed a bill to launch Maine’s adult-use marijuana market. LePage, a staunch opponent of marijuana, said he doesn’t want Maine to operate two different marijuana programs – medical and adult-use – with two different tax rates and two different sets of rules and raised concerns about the impact of marijuana impairment […]
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Lawmakers didn’t fund Maine schools before adjournment last week
AUGUSTA — Before the most recent legislative session expired last week, lawmakers neglected to pass a bill that would have appropriated more than $1 billion in funds for public schools. The Maine School Management Association, which represents superintendents, sent out a notice Tuesday urging members to contact lawmakers and ask them to find a way […]
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Legislature criticized for failing to address opioid crisis
Drug addiction specialists and advocates for treatment programs are criticizing the Legislature for, once again, failing to take any major steps to address Maine’s opioid crisis despite record-setting death tolls caused by overdoses in the state. But lawmakers and some advocates said they hope a few key opioid-related measures can be salvaged from the political fires consuming […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature criticized for not addressing opioid crisis
Drug addiction specialists and advocates for treatment programs are criticizing the Legislature for, once again, failing to take any major steps to address Maine’s opioid crisis despite record-setting death tolls caused by overdoses in the state. But lawmakers and some advocates said they hope a few key opioid-related measures can be salvaged from the political fires consuming […]